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18 February 2017

How To: The Basics of Landscaping You Own Yard

Dreams of a perfect yard often have to be forgotten when we hear the price of a professional landscaper. It is possible to get back on a budget by landscaping your yard yourself. It will take time and you need to know the basics before you begin. These are some of the essential pointers you need to know before tackling your own yard.

Planning--

Planning is absolutely essential. This isn’t the sort of DIY that you can just make up as you go along. The most important thing to plan is what you actually want out of your new yard. Spend some time with the family discussing everyone’s wish list. You may find that a play area for the kids is essential and an outdoor seating area isn’t. It’s really about what you or your family need. Sketching out your ideas is a good way to check their realistic. A patio might be a nice idea but will it fit? Is a vegetable garden best placed next to the kid’s play area? It’s also worth planning the practical considerations. Hiring skip bins is a good way to keep organized once you get underway. This means you can get rid of any organic waste or rubble as you go.

Don’t Be over Ambitious--

After years of plans, you may want to include everything that you like in your new yard. If you’re new to landscaping it’s best to start off small. Remember, you won’t have a whole crew helping you! Start by planting a small flower bed. This will hone your organization skills, as well as planting and designing skills. Being over ambitious will also mean you quickly break your budget. It’s so important to try your best to rigorously stick to your initial budget. Otherwise, plans could develop and prices will spiral out of control.

Most yards have a focal point or a few areas where our eyes are naturally drawn. Avoid putting lots of different trees, sculptures, and different plants into your yard. Everything needs to work in harmony together, rather than fight for attention. Complement sculptures or brighter flowers with some muted or classic styles. Landscaping is a great way of making your home unique. But too many additions will make for a cluttered yard that lacks focus.

Before You Start Planting--

Carefully consider what you’re putting where. It’s worth spending time tracking the sun in your yard. Plants need the right amount of sunlight to grow. If there in a shaded patch that never sees any sun they won’t be successful. When you buy plants they have a tag on them. This tag tells you everything you need to know about what the plant requires. Be sure to read and adhere to these tags.

Whilst you may want to get stuck into planting flowers and trees, hardscaping really does need to come first. What that means is that any patios, decks, fencing, or porches need to be constructed before any planting takes place. Once you start planting you could easily damage turf or plantings with all the debris.

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